At the risk of being completely embarrassed I'm here today to fill you all, well mainly my woman friends on a little something I've been keeping a secret.
Last month, after spending some time out in the sun, at a water park I got a tiny sunburn. No worries, it happens all the time.
That night as I was slathering on the aloe & vitamin e lotion I noticed a small bump in the ta-ta.
Well, you know..I thought {hoped} I was wrong and let it go a couple of weeks.
Fast forward, a couple weeks later, it was still there.
So, I went to the Dr. who suggested a mammogram.
I went to the hospital two days later and had the mammogram {which BTW does NOT hurt} and the Dr. there suggested an ultrasound.
So, I went and had that done at the same time.
Yup, something suspicious was there but they had no idea what.
Back to my Dr. for a follow up who wasn't thrilled with the results and sent me to a surgeon.
Now at the surgeons, she suggested two options, remove the bump or a needle biopsy. I went for the lesser of the two, the needle biopsy.
I mean, really...it's a small needle, right? LOL..wrong!
The following week there I was, alone sitting in a room with some women magazines, a fabric gown, a plastic bag of my own belongings/clothes and my thoughts, thoughts about how messed up this was that I was sitting there alone cuz I know my Vinny would have been there. However, my #2 Bonehead, Kayara was waiting out in the main waiting area, so honestly I did have somebody.
OK, so they call me in...get prepped, yadda yadda, wait for the Dr to come in {who was wonderful, he really was very cool}.
And he takes out a small needle and says I'll feel a little burn.
Oh cool I thought this will be over quick.
HA HA HA...that needle was just the numbing medicine.
Next step he tells me to close my eyes while he makes a puncture hole for the needle.
What??? A puncture hole? Hold on now can someone explain to me...
And then out came the needle, which looked more like a BBQ lighter and I'm thinking "They're gonna stab me in the u know what with that??!!"
And he sure did, a bunch of times...each time clipping off a piece for pathology.
Then they stuck in there a small titanium clip called a tissue marker, so for the future they would have a reference as to where it is and how big it is.
They closed me up, bandaged it shut, took me in for another mammogram {which did pinch that time, but all things considered what just happened I figured it would}, gave me an ice pack {a baggie full of frozen peas}, and sent me on my way.
Three days later I got a call from my surgeon.
Yes it is a tumor, BUT, it is a benign tumor and all I have to do is follow up with regular mammograms, call if there are any changes, and live happily ever after.
So, the moral of this story I guess is, don't be like me and assume nothing else can possibly go wrong. Check yourselves ladies...you just never know.
So, the good was it turned out to be non life threatening.
The bad is that is was there at all.
The ugly is that for a few brief minutes I actually hoped this would be my ticket to Heaven to be back with the man I love.
Fortunately, he saw otherwise. :)
I took this today, just some roses I bought for myself at Wal-Mart yesterday.
Have a beautiful day everybody!!
7 comments:
Hi Kim! I went through a similar thing last year when I had my first mammogram but with me they found calcifications. You're going to laugh but you made your procedure sound much nicer than mine was- I had a stereotactic biopsy which is done whilst the tatas are mashed in the mammogram machine- with an electronic needle connected to a vacuum. UGH. Fortunately mine was good too but I'm due for another annual mammo and I don't want to go.
This getting older really sucks- at 40 we get our boobs smashed and violated and at 50 we have the lovely colonoscopy to look forward to.
:) Ain't life grand?!
So glad for all the "K's" that this turned out positively!
Hey Kim, my mom had breast cancer in 2001 and even though she did, I had a hard time committing to having my first mammogram. Well, my boss told me that she would give my Relay for Life team $150 if I would go in for it. hmmm...Well, I agreed to have it done and the day after the mammo I had to go in for an ultrasound. A couple of days later my doctor said that he wanted a surgeon to look at both the mammo and ultrasound, but everyone kept saying, "You know, I really don't thing you have anything to worry about, but..." The surgeon looked at it and said he would have someone else look at it and told me not to worry. Well, I was called and said that he wanted to do a wire localization (both breast) and go through surgery. Still hearing the words, not to worry, I went in with no worries. Was put in a vice (mammo) for the wire localization, which took about an hour (fun) and then was put to sleep to have the suspicious tissue taken out to biopsy. Glad to say that it was all benign and I really didn't have anything to worry about after all, but I did have a family history of this monster and just have to be more careful with my health.
I'm glad that everything was ok with you because you do have soooo much to live for. Hang in there.
Kim I'm so glad everythign turnedout Ok. I would have said some extra prayers if I'd known.
Kim please get a second opinion. I had a benigin lump removed ten years ago by the top breast surgeon in Phila. He said he always removes benign lumps because they can cause major problems later on.
Poor thing. I am so sorry that you had to go through this,and go through this without Vinnie!! What a wonderful set of kids you have though. So glad you weren't alone. So happy it was benign. Sending prayers your way!
Kim, how wonderful that you've shared your story to help other women! (And men, since they can get breast cancer as well.) I think it's awesome that you've shared your story to encourage others. It sounds like this was your first mammo. I HOPE you keep up with annual exams now! I had my first baseline mammo at the age of 35 and -- until this last year -- have ahad an annual exam ever since.
Sad to say/admit that next month I'm one year overdue on my colonoscopy. As you know, my brother passed away from colon cancer. (And Kendall, he wasn't even the 'magic' age of 50.) I am not 50 yet and should have had my 4th on the year I turn 50. I guess what I'm getting at...EARLY DETECTION is so important, no matter how uncomfortable the prep or procedure is, my message is go, go, GO for your exams. Okay...I'll get off my soapbox now...and Kim, you KNOW I'm so very happy your results came back okay. :)
Post a Comment